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  <Title>Entrepreneur Spotlight: Have You Met Percy Addo?</Title>
  <Tagline>Get to know one of the guys behind InSource.</Tagline>
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    <![CDATA[
    <div class="html-content"><span>Percy Addo is an Information Technologies major and is scheduled to graduate in 2014. He is a member of a team who recently launched InSource at UMBC. Since launch it's been steadily growing a user base and has been helping students find connections to continue their business dreams. </span><div><br></div><div>I recently sat down with PErcy to find out a little more about him and about InSource. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><img src="http://projectinsource.com/static/images/brain-in_logo.png" width="400px" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><div><div><strong>1. Tell us a little about your company, and what makes your business </strong></div><div><strong>unique?</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div>InSource is a revolutionary new tool that will organize the ideas and pre-startup chaos in the academic community. We provide a social web-based space for idea creators and idea seekers to come together. Our space is entirely focused on the academic community and can be used by students, faculty, and others within the academic community. Users will be able to search for individuals that possess specific skills required to advance their projects, they will also be able to be found by other users simply by the title of their projects and their specified skill sets. InSource is not only a place for students to connect but also where innovative ideas become reality. We at InSource strive to make collaboration between our users a click and a step away. </div></blockquote><div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span><strong>2. Are there classes on campus that have helped you the most?</strong></span></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div>There are quite a number of courses I would say helped me the most. But for the sake of time I will only list two that I believe really helped transition me into becoming the young entrepreneur I am today. </div><div>The first being  MGMT 210 – The Practice of Management, a class taught by one of the most committed professors here on campus, Prof. Vivian Armor. This course taught me the dynamics of leading organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial ventures to large corporate environments in terms of setting the right corporate culture and goals, as well as measuring performance. </div><div>The second course on my list, ENTR 201 – The Entrepreneurial Mindset, is a class taught by the most inspiring entrepreneur I know, Gilbert Mason. Not only did this course help in developing my public speaking skills; it also had many contributions in the development of the InSource. </div></blockquote><div><div><div><br></div><div><span><strong>3. What are some resources that have helped you the most? </strong></span></div><div><strong>(Magazines, Books, Websites…)</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div></div><blockquote><div><span>First let me point out that the Internet is the most useful resource that any individual can tap into. Aside from the internet, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594481717/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1594481717&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=jmassey-20&amp;linkId=WLOMRKY522QXIPK7" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">A Whole New Mind</a>, by Daniel H. Pink is a book I believe every motivated student should read. This book not only changed how I view the politics of education but also how I experience the world as a whole. I will also like to point out that this particular book inspired the current InSource logo.  </span></div></blockquote><div><div><div><div><br></div><div><strong>4. What is the toughest decision you have had to make in the last 6 </strong></div><div><strong>months?</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><span>The toughest decision I had to make in the past 6 months would honestly be deciding on the appropriate compensation (equity) to distribute between all participating members of InSource. It is especially difficult in determining a fair amount that would satisfy and at the same time show how valuable each member is to the company without stirring up bad feelings within the group.  </span></div></blockquote><div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>5. What advice would you give other student entrepreneurs?</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><ol><li><span>Get OUT of your comfort zone</span></li><li><span>Don’t be afraid to fail, and when it comes to entrepreneurial ventures, “fail fast”.</span></li><li><span>Be open to hearing other peoples inputs</span></li><li><span>Try to be the best overall person you can be, because one thing that people will always remember is how you made them feel.</span></li></ol></div></blockquote><div><div><br></div><div><div><strong>Reach out to Percy &amp; Visit the InSource Website to learn more. </strong></div><div><br></div><div><span><a href="http://www.projectinsource.com/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1347657964_9-e1347658111186.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teaminsource" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/fbicon-e1329880206895.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/teamInSource" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/twittericon-e1329880313794.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a><a href="mailto:percy1@umbc.edu" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/greenemail-e1329918835794.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a></div></div></div></div></div>
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  <Summary>Percy Addo is an Information Technologies major and is scheduled to graduate in 2014. He is a member of a team who recently launched InSource at UMBC. Since launch it's been steadily growing a...</Summary>
  <Website>http://www.projectinsource.com</Website>
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  <NewsItem contentIssues="true" id="46669" important="false" status="posted" url="https://dev.my.umbc.edu/groups/entr-at-umbc/posts/46669">
  <Title>Entrepreneur spotlight: Have you met Markus Proctor?</Title>
  <Tagline>Get to know Markus, CEO of EduPal</Tagline>
  <Body>
    <![CDATA[
    <div class="html-content"><span>Markus Proctor</span><span> (class of 2016) is a Interdisciplinary Studies major with a focus in </span><span>Tech Entrepreneurship and Organizational Management. He recently launched a web-based platform that helps students keep organized, or task, and up-to-date with changes in their classes syllabus. It's called <a href="http://my.umbc.edu/groups/entrepreneurship/news/45928" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">EduPal </a>and is free for students to utilize. It's also, currently, only available at UMBC....but that's going to be changing. </span><div>I recently sat down with Markus to get to know more about what makes EduPal so special. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><a href="http://www.edupal.co/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://entrepreneurship.umbc.edu/files/2014/09/edupal.png" width="300px" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a></div><div></div><div><div><strong><br></strong></div><div><strong><br></strong></div><div><strong>1. Tell us a little about your company, and what makes your business </strong></div><div><strong>unique?</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><div><span>"EduPal is a FREE ‘by students for students' app designed around your needs as a college student. We have created an adaptive and responsive tool that organizes your life, promotes collaborative learning, and enhances social engagement. Because we are students ourselves, we understand the importance of time management and maintaining a healthy social life so we made an app to do just that. Students can now feel confident that their devices will support them as they journey through college and focus on what is really important: their learning. At this stage of EduPal: students can get all homework, quizzes, exams, and pretty much everything else from the syllabus organized into a color coded calendar.</span></div></div><div><div><span><br></span></div></div><div><div><span>What makes us beautifully unique is that our tool does NOT require teachers to do anything. Students can grab the steering wheel and make EduPal the most valuable resource on campus all on their own. This nontraditional crowd sourcing model is very disruptive in the EdTech market."</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span><strong>2. Are there classes on campus that have helped you the most?</strong></span></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><div><span><strong>"ENTR201</strong>: Helped me to polish my public speaking skills and understand the type of thinker I am.</span></div></div><div><div><span><strong>INDS330</strong>: I was required to write a lot of papers and plugged in EduPal as much as possible. Not only did it help me understand my product better, I also adopted a mentor (the instructor) who helped me solidify my idea for the CBIC."<br></span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><div><br></div><div><span><strong>3. What are some resources that have helped you the most? </strong></span></div><div><strong>(Magazines, Books, Websites…)</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><div><span><a href="https://www.elance.com/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">Elance</a>: Freelancer contracting website that I use to outsource complex coding work</span></div></div><div><div><span><a href="https://www.cofounderslab.com/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">CoFoundersLab</a>: Website to find other entrepreneurial minded people in your area</span></div></div><div><div><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887898/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0307887898&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=jmassey-20&amp;linkId=C3VKNMJBA24JALJP" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">Lean StartUp</a>: Must read for all entrepreneurs (Markus isn't the first to recommend this one!) </span></div></div><div><div><span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">LinkedIn</a>: Search professionals and students by skill</span></div></div><div><div><span><a href="https://baltimore.craigslist.org/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">Craigslist</a>: Might find your next business partner here as well</span></div></div><div><div><span><br></span></div></div><div><div><span>I also follow <a href="https://twitter.com/forbes" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">Forbes </a>&amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/Inc" rel="nofollow external" class="bo">Inc Magazine</a> on Twitter</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><div><span><br></span></div><div><br></div><div><strong>4. What is the toughest decision you have had to make in the last 6 </strong></div><div><strong>months?</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><span>"The toughest decision I made recently was the decision to change my major. It doesn't sound like much but when you are a Junior, there are some ramifications. The good news is that I am satisfied with choosing INDS to tailor my own education. My new major allows me to readily apply what I learn in the classroom directly into EduPal."</span></div></blockquote><div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>5. What advice would you give other student entrepreneurs?</strong></div><div><br></div></div></div><blockquote><div><div><span>"Student entrepreneurs need to realize that they are the worst critic of their own ideas.</span></div></div><div><div><span>My advice is for students to get out of their comfort zone and pitch their concept to as many people as possible...especially their target audience. Why? because validation is critical before you start spending time and money building the best product no one wants."</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><br></div><div><div><strong>Reach out to Markus &amp; Visit the EduPal Website to learn more. </strong></div><div><br></div><div><span><a href="http://www.edupal.co/" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1347657964_9-e1347658111186.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/myedupal" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/fbicon-e1329880206895.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a></span><a href="https://twitter.com/myEduPal" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/twittericon-e1329880313794.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/5226172" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/linkedinicon-e1329880359341.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a><a href="mailto:info@edupal.co" rel="nofollow external" class="bo"><img src="http://divasmobilesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/greenemail-e1329918835794.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"></a></div></div></div></div>
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  <Summary>Markus Proctor (class of 2016) is a Interdisciplinary Studies major with a focus in Tech Entrepreneurship and Organizational Management. He recently launched a web-based platform that helps...</Summary>
  <Website>http://www.edupal.co</Website>
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